A poster for Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, which is shortlisted for two awards – best scene and best marketing campaign

Its Oscar prospects may be looking shakier following Gravity's triumphant haul at Sunday's Baftas, but 12 Years a Slave does dominate the shortlist for the Guardian Film Awards. Steve McQueen's slavery drama has converted every one of its longlist mentions into a place among the final five in each category, meaning it's in the running for best film, best director, best scene, best line of dialogue and biggest game-changer. It also scores two nominations in the best supporting actor group - for Michael Fassbender and Lupita Nyong'o.

The Guardian Film Awards, currently in their inaugural year, differ from traditional awards ceremonies both in criteria and eligibility. The best director and best film categories are open to fact, fiction and foreign language, while the best actor and best supporting actor categories follow Guardian style in referring to both genders by the term, and so are open to men and women.

This year, Cate Blanchett and Adèle Exarchopoulos join Chiwetel Ejiofor, Leonardo DiCaprio and Bruce Dern in the race for best actor, while documentarian Joshua Oppenheimer is up for best director alongside Steve McQueen, Spike Jonze, Alexander Payne and Paolo Sorrentino.

A Field In England, up for biggest gamechanger

Oppenheimer's film, The Act of Killing, is also in contention for best film and biggest game-changer - a category which seeks to celebrate innovation in cinema, whether it be technical, creative or financial. It's up against Gravity, Spike Jonze's Her, 12 Years a Slave, The Act of Killing, and Ben Wheatley's A Field in England.

The shortlist was entirely voted for by Guardian readers who chose their favourites from a longlist of 10. The top reader vote also becomes the casting vote in the final round, joining judges including the Guardian's Alan Rusbridger and Peter Bradshaw, the documentary maker Adam Curtis and host of the BBC's Film 2014, Claudia Winkleman.